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Band history

By 1994 a-ha are still touring, after having released their fifth studio album, Memorial Beach, the year before. But in June they play their last concert before taking a break that will last four years. With Magne Furuholmen and Morten Harket both having started doing solo-projects, the band's guitarist and main songwriter Paul Waaktaar-Savoy is also thinking about doing something on his own. He feels that many of the songs he is making won't be suitable for a-ha.

Paul: "Me and Lauren had made the song "Tears From A Stone", but it was obvious that it wouldn’t fit into a-ha's concept. It simply wouldn't be accepted. But I loved the song, and I guess that was the first step towards Savoy."

Together with his multi-talented wife Lauren, Paul starts working on new music in New York. They both like the band Chocolate Overdose from Bergen, and especially the drummer Frode Unneland, who had recently played the drums on some a-ha demos. They ask Frode to come and play on some Savoy demos as well, and are impressed by what they're hearing. In the summer of 1994, Frode joins the new band. While Paul is still looking for a vocalist, Lauren and Frode convinces him to do the vocals himself, after listening to the demos where Paul sings.

By December 1994, all the songs for what will become Savoy's first album have been finished and recorded, except "Foolish". Most of the work has been done in the Waaktaar-Savoy's home studios in New York and Oslo.

The video for the first single off the album; "Velvet", is filmed in Oslo in January 1995. It is directed by Lauren, and features the Norwegian actress Petronella Barker.

Having finished making the album, album-cover and music-video all by themselves, they present the package to Warner Music, which signs the band in March. The plan is to release the album in August.

In April, Paul and Lauren appear on the cover of the Norwegian women's magazine "Tique", and there is a long interview inside. The band is not yet called Savoy, instead they are using the working-title "Fade".

In the summer of 1995, Warner decides to delay the Savoy album until the following year, because they think it will interfere with Morten Harket's solo album Wild Seed.

With the release of the album and concert dates finally approaching, Paul and Lauren start looking for an additional band member. After seeing the band Soup doing a gig at CBGB's in New York, they ask the bass player Greg Calvert to join the band.

The first Savoy album Mary Is Coming is released in Norway in February 1996. Led by the hit single "Velvet", which reaches #1 in the single charts, the album goes on to sell around 35 000 copies in Norway. Mary Is Coming is also released in England, Germany, Sweden, Japan and the USA.

They do a small tour of Norway, which is followed by several festival concerts in the summer. They also play a few shows in Denmark and Sweden.

October 1997 sees the release of their second album, Lackluster Me. It is darker and more produced than the first one, and is still regarded by many fans to be their best album so far. It was nominated for a Spellemann award in the "best rock band" category.

Paul: "The production is bigger, more complex. Choosing the word "lackluster" in the title is sort of a reaction to the enormous amount of myth-creating and egosentric "jetset-pop" that fills the music scene today."

The album is followed by a small tour of Norway, and a special Christmas single called "Xmas Time (Blows My Mind)" is released as radio single in December.

In April 1998, Savoy play a few concerts in the UK and US.

In May 1998, Paul's first art exhibition opens at the NK Gallery at Lillehammer, Norway. And while Lauren is busy directing TV-commercials, Paul is also asked to produce the song "Tyve Null Tre" by the Norwegian band deLillos.

Meanwhile, in Bergen, Frode teams up with ex-Pogo Pops vocalist Frank Hammersland to form the band Popium.
"Frank and I have been talking about doing this for ten years now, so it's really a dream come true", Frode tells Bergensavisen.
Frode is also busy with his other bands, as Chocolate Overdose release the album Whatever and Unge Frustrerte Menn release Øl og Peanøtter.
"Traditionally, Chocolate Overdose has been my main band, but I've become very emotionally involved in Savoy. I've learnt incredibly much in that band. But I give a lot of myself in all the different concepts. I'm not your ordinary studio musician", Frode says.

In the fall of 98, Paul, Magne and Morten start working with a-ha again after four years of individual projects. They record demos, and rehearse for a big "comeback" at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo. a-ha's performance of the new song "Summer Moved On" and the old hit "The Sun Always Shines On TV" at the Nobel Concert is a great success, and they decide to make a new album.

Savoy release their third album, Mountains Of Time, in August 1999. The album has a more classic pop sound, and receives oustanding review in the Norwegian press. One reviewer writes that it's on par with John Lennon's best songs.

The first single "Star" is a big radio success in Norway, and is later nominated for "Hit of the year" at HitAwards.

Mountains Of Time sells around 60 000 copies in Norway, and is the best-selling Savoy album so far. A limited edition of the album comes with a special bonus CD with b-sides and alternative versions.
At the Spellemann Awards in 2000, Savoy win the award for "best pop group".

Minor Earth | Major Sky - a-ha's first album since 1993's Memorial Beach is released in April 2000, followed by an extensive European promo-tour.

Savoy release Mountains of Time in Germany in November 2000, in between a-ha tours, and "Star" is also released as a single accompanied by a new video.

In October 2001 Savoy release their fourth album called Reasons To Stay Indoors. It features more classic songwriting, with personal lyrics and a big production. As with the previous album, it also comes in a limited edition with b-sides and alternative versions of songs.

The first single "You Won't Come to the Party" becomes another radio hit. And Savoy once again win the Spellemann Award for "best pop group" with this album in 2002.

In August 2004, after several years of focusing more on a-ha, Savoy play their first concerts in more than 6 years at the RaumaRock Festival in Norway. And at the end of the month, they release their self-titled fifth album. Of the 25 songs recorded, 12 end up on the album.

Like the two previous albums, Savoy is also released as a limited edition - this time with a bonus DVD containing a special video made for the song "Isotope", directed by Jason Brandenberg.

The first single "Whalebone" is featured in the critically acclaimed movie Hawaii, Oslo. In September and October, Savoy go on a tour of Norway with Maya Vik from the band Furia on bass.

After the tour Paul says on the official Savoy website:
"Just finished the tour which funnily enough will be hard to forget and was one of the best. Gives off a nice feeling, after starting with a rough start, we ended up in a place where we felt we could take it even further."

In 2006, Savoy record new versions of many of their old songs, for an upcoming "best of"-abum. They also set up a page on MySpace, where the recording process can be followed.

And in April 2007 a new single called "Karma Boomerang" is released, followed by the 2-CD album Savoy Songbook Vol. 1 in August. The first disc (2007) features seven re-recorded songs and three brand new songs. The second disc (1994-2004) is a "best of"-CD with fourteen previously released tracks.

Following the release, Frode and Lauren do some recording for the next album in Bergen, working with producer Bjørn Ivar Tysse (Frode's bandmate in West Side Tennis Club). Frode and Bjørn Ivar continue working on new Savoy songs later in the autumn.

In May 2008 Savoy play five concerts at Rockefeller in Oslo and the Royal Albert Hall in London, as part of the very special "An evening with Morten Harket, Savoy & Magne F"-events. They are joined on stage by Preben Grieg-Halvorsen, Jørun Bøgeberg, Hågen Rørmark and Erin Hill.